


Unchanged

by FleetofShippyShips



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Pendragon Is King, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 03:41:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11140353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FleetofShippyShips/pseuds/FleetofShippyShips
Summary: Returning to Camelot after a tour of the kingdom that ended in an ambush and a long, exhausting ride home, both Arthur and Merlin are relieved to finally have privacy again. Only, Arthur has things on his mind that Merlin is completely unprepared for.





	Unchanged

Merlin poured the last bucket of water into the tub, and looked over his shoulder. Arthur was still lying face down on his bed. Swallowing nervously, Merlin muttered the spell to heat the water more, and dipped his fingers into it. Perfect.

“Your bath is ready, get up.”

“One day, I’ll tire of your insolence and dismiss you, Merlin,” Arthur muttered, as he dragged himself to his feet with a groan.

“Of course,” Merlin said cheerfully, stepping up to help him out of his clothes. “Any day now.”

Arthur glared at him, and then cuffed the back of his head. Merlin only grinned more widely. Arthur’s empty threats only seemed more and more pointless every day.  And more and more amusing that he still made them anyway.

“I can undress myself you know.”

Merlin snorted, and stepped back. “Go on then.”

Arthur set his jaw, and then started pulling at his clothes. Merlin didn’t bother to try and catch him when he fell over, or hide his amusement at the sight of him sprawled on the floor with his trousers around his knees.

“If you say one word, it’s the stocks for you,” Arthur grumbled, holding out his arms.

Merlin snickered, and pulled him back up into his feet. Keeping silent, he helped him get his clothes all the way off, trying to ignore the bruises and scrapes he’d already treated before they’d returned to the castle. He’d told the stupid prat that they should have rested the night before, instead of riding on to Camelot. Arthur hadn’t slept the night before that, and he was suffering for it now, two nights without sleep. He had been so tense, so insistent that they get back. He’d even been a little distant, for the first day. But then, he sometimes was that way when they’d been in an ambush. Leading his men into danger would never stop being a difficult part of ruling.

Merlin was exhausted too, but he’d worked magic into the wood of the bucket so it hadn’t felt so heavy. Besides, the anticipation and the excitement of their first night back in the castle was enough to have him feeling rejuvenated. Finally alone, with no eyes watching, and no roles to play.

“Merlin.”

Making a humming sound, Merlin guided him over to the bath. He had an arm slung around Arthur’s hip, and warm, smooth skin under his fingertips. His heart was already beginning to race.

“Get in first this time,” Arthur mumbled, leaning on the side of the bath when they reached it. “I’m going to fall asleep.”

“A servant, joining the king in his bath?” Merlin said, tutting, and letting Arthur go to remove his own clothes. “So generous, Sire. Maybe the spell that sorcerer used on you had some lasting effects after all.” 

“Shut up,” Arthur huffed, his eyes half closed as he watched Merlin remove his clothes. “Ungrateful idiot.”

Merlin hummed again, flashing him a grin, as he kicked off his trousers. Arthur’s attention lingered on his face for a moment, softening, before travelling down. Merlin was already half-hard, but then, so was Arthur.

Freezing cold rivers were not so fun to bathe in while travelling the kingdom, with knights always within earshot. Even exhausted as they both were, it was impossible not to react.

Merlin stepped closer to him, now naked, and leaned past to dip his fingertips into the water. Still hot. He was looking forward to the bath for more reasons than one. Smiling, he flicked the water in Arthur’s face. 

“Do you actually enjoy the stocks?” Arthur asked, as he scooped up some water himself, and splashed Merlin with it.

Merlin laughed, wiping the water from his face, and shivering at the feel of droplets sliding down his chest. Arthur watched them descended. By the time they had travelled to his hips, Merlin was fully erect, and breathless with anticipation.

“I think you certainly like the view of the stocks that you have from your window, while I’m in them,” he teased, finally stepping one foot into the bath.

“And you say I have a big head?”

“The biggest, Sire,” Merlin said, grinning at him, as he lowered himself into the bath.

The amusement melted from his face, and he groaned. His body was aching and tired from their travels, and that last fight with a score of bandits and that lone sorcerer, and the water was heavenly. 

“Enjoying yourself?” Arthur asked.

Merlin looked up to see him looking nowhere near amused, but openly aroused instead. Lifting his hand out of the water, he reached over, and gently trailed a finger over Arthur’s hip.

“Not as much as I could be.”

Arthur’s breath hitched, and he was looking more awake than before. Merlin smiled slowly, pulling his hand back and stretching both arms above his head, arching his back. Arthur’s gaze swept over him, lingering where Merlin spread his legs to press against either side of the tub.

“I didn’t draw this bath for myself, Sire,” Merlin said, watching the flush of pink spreading from Arthur’s face to his chest.

“Do you ever shut up?”

Merlin chuckled, watching as Arthur climbed in. Some water sloshed over the edge, as Arthur leaned back, until he was pressed against Merlin. The back of his head rested on one of Merlin’s shoulders, lower back trapping Merlin’s cock between their bodies with enough pressure to make him moan.

Arthur moaned too, going boneless, and leaning back against Merlin even more heavily. Merlin pressed his cheek against the side of Arthur’s forehead, and closed his eyes a moment, sliding his arms around his body.

Arthur’s hands slid over his where he held him, and they lay there in silence. 

“I’m never bathing in a river again,” Arthur murmured, sounding half asleep.

Merlin hummed. “Not so equal to your knights after all, then?”

“They can forgo as well, if they choose,” Arthur huffed. 

“You won’t be thinking that after two days of riding,” Merlin said with a laugh. “One day, if Gwaine and Percival are with us.”

Arthur made a disgusted sound, and Merlin laughed softly again. Arthur turned his head and lifted a hand to hold the side of Merlin’s head.

Merlin raised a hand to cup Arthur’s face too, as their lips softly pressed together. He felt himself shiver, even in the heat of the bath, and the heat of Arthur resting on him. Arthur gently led them into a deeper, more passionate kiss, and Merlin skimmed his other hand up his torso.

Arthur shifted as Merlin’s thumb teased his nipple into a hard peak, and the shifting pressure of his body made Merlin moan into their kiss. Arthur kissed with more fervour, and Merlin moaned again. After the attack, this was all that Merlin had wanted to do, be with him, be reassured he was whole and well, but better late than never.

The knights had been unbearably protective after the attack, and they hadn’t had any time alone the entire way back, as Leon insisted on standing guard over Arthur all night, and would have seen Merlin move closer to him. 

Arthur had actually snapped at the knights more than once to be left alone, but Leon had merely assumed a rather stubborn expression, and recited his duty as a knight to protect the king. Arthur had not been pleased, but he couldn't argue the duties of a knight.

“It’s weird this way,” Arthur said, a mumble, with their faces still so close their lips brushed as he spoke.

“You wanted it this way,” Merlin replied, gently scraping his thumbnail over Arthur’s nipple. “But I suppose it’s for the best, if you fall asleep and drown this way, you’ll take me out with you. I’m not sure I could get out from under you. And I can’t imagine they’d take kindly to me letting a king drown in his own bath. I’d probably be executed”

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, but Merlin tweaked his nipple without warning, and he gasped and arched his back to press into it. Merlin took the opportunity to turn his head away, and kiss his neck. There was a spot just below his right ear that always made him turn to clay in Merlin’s hands.

“ _ Merlin _ ,” Arthur gasped, as Merlin sucked at that spot below his ear, and continued to torment his nipple.

They might bathe more often the other way around, because of Arthur’s obsessive desire to watch Merlin’s body as they pleasured each other, but he was rather enjoying this vantage point. He could certainly appreciate why Arthur loved it so much, as he watched Arthur’s chest heave with gasping breaths.

“Would you like me to touch you now?” he asked softly, into the skin of Arthur’s neck, letting his lips trace the words there. He slid his hand down, but didn’t touch his cock, instead brushing his balls, and then pressing the skin just behind them.

Arthur jerked, gasping and writhing. The shifting pressure against his cock made Merlin moan into the taut stretch of Arthur’s neck, as he rubbed and pressed at that patch of skin. He kept his gaze fixed on the way Arthur’s body twitched and jerked, all before he’d even touched his cock.

Tired and sore, Arthur still came alive beneath Merlin’s touch.

“We could finish this in bed,” he moaned, rocking his hips slightly to press more firmly against Arthur’s lower back.

“No, don’t stop,” Arthur gasped back. “Touch me.”

Merlin complied. He gripped Arthur’s cock under the water and didn’t waste time teasing. They were both tired and sore, they needed sleep. It had just been too hard to resist having a bath the first night back.

They were making a mess, a mess Merlin would have to clean up. Water sloshed over the sides of the tub as Arthur writhed, using his feet against the other end of the tub, and one hand braced on the edge they leaned against, to push himself back and forwards, rubbing his body against Merlin’s cock.

“No…more…rivers!” Arthur managed to gasp between moans.

Merlin laughed breathlessly into the side of his neck, as he stroked Arthur’s cock and teased the head, until Arthur was whining and rocking himself against Merlin’s body faster. Merlin only had to hold his hand still, and Arthur was doing all the work, thrusting into the circle of his hand. So he let him, and dropped his head back against the edge of the bath. After all, he had to clean everything up after. 

Arthur shuddered and groaned as he came, and Merlin softened his touch, and tried to focus on easing him down from climax even as he was still nearing his own.

Making a satisfied sound, Arthur knocked his hand away. He sloshed around, until he managed to turn himself and reach between them for Merlin’s cock. At the first gentle touch of his hand, Merlin arched his back and gripped the sides of the tub to hold himself up.

Arthur’s half-lidded gaze swept over him. He leaned closer, and Merlin struggled to kiss back as their lips met. Arthur stroked him fast and firm, swiping at the head on upstrokes, and resting his other hand over one of Merlin’s where it gripped the edge of the tub.

“Missed this,” Arthur said, giving up on kissing when Merlin was unable to reciprocate, but keeping their foreheads together, and looking down at Merlin’s body writhing under him. 

Merlin huffed, gripping the edge of the bath tight, and rocking into Arthur’s hand. “It’s not been…been that…that long!”

“How many times must I tell you,  _ Merlin _ ?” Arthur said, saying his name in the way he knew made Merlin’s legs shake. “I am the king, and I am always right.”

Merlin couldn’t reply, as his balls tightened, and he arched his back and found release. Before he even stopped moaning, Arthur was kissing him. He struggled to reciprocate, but tried his best. He had missed kissing Arthur while they were travelling. 

In the castle, they knew all the places out of sight, and barely a day went by where they didn’t secret away kisses here and there between the rising and setting of the sun.

Ever since the first time they’d kissed, when Arthur had stupidly thrown himself in front of Merlin to shield him from danger, and nearly died from it. When Merlin had been so angry when Arthur had finally woken up, and so unable to hear Arthur making light of it, that he’d had to shut him up, and only realised moments after doing so that he’d used his own mouth to do it. 

Ever since then, they hadn’t been able to stop.

It had been so risky, and so difficult, until Arthur had taken the throne, and then it had become so much easier, but no less secret. Not that Merlin minded having Arthur all to himself, not having to deal with what people thought.

Although, after having to wait three days before being able to kiss and touch him following that attack, he was seeing the downsides more so than was usual.

“So much better than rivers while surrounded by knights,” Arthur muttered, when he finally stopped kissing him. He sighed, and turned around again, until he was resting back against Merlin as he had been when they’d first got into the bath.

The water was cooling, but Merlin circled his arms about Arthur again, pressing his cheek to the side of his forehead, and sighing as well. It was so nice to just lie there together. But there was a very real possibility of one, if not both, of them falling asleep.

“We should go to bed, Arthur,” he said softly. 

Arthur made a grumbling sound, and didn’t move.

“I really don’t want to be responsible for a drowned king,” Merlin said, prodding at his chest with two fingers.

Taking a swipe at his hand, Arthur groaned, and started pulling himself up. Merlin looked up, enjoying the view of water running down Arthur’s back as he stood. He never tired of looking at Arthur’s arse. There was a small scar on the left cheek that Merlin still almost laughed to see, from a time they’d had sex in the woods and rolled onto the edge of Arthur’s sword, because the idiot hadn’t sheathed it.

“Did you bring provisions up with you like I asked?” Arthur asked, turning and offering a hand.

Merlin nodded, as he took it and left the bath himself. “By the table. Why though?”

Arthur shook his head. “You really are an idiot,” he said softly, warmly. “So you don’t have to get up and go to the kitchens for breakfast. I told the servants not to disturb me tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Merlin said, blinking and trying to fight the heat attempting to flood his cheeks. Even now, after all this time, whenever Arthur did something so openly thoughtful, he lost his ability to tease him in response.

“Yes,  _ oh _ ,” Arthur laughed. “Come to bed, before we both fall over from exhaustion.”

Merlin snorted. “You mean before you do,” he pointed out. “I got some sleep before we made that final stretch home, remember? You sat up on watch with Leon all night.”

“Stocks,” Arthur muttered, as he swiped at himself with a towel, and then crawled into bed. “I told you, no speaking of that.”

“Of what a stubborn fool you are sometimes?” Merlin asked, not even slightly phased, as he also dried off and joined him. He had a pallet near the fire, which was his excuse for living in Arthur’s quarters now, as was completely acceptable for a king’s manservant. He’d only had to sleep there a handful of times since Arthur had been crowned king. Arthur rarely cared how he spoke to him in private. “But who else is going to keep that gigantic ego of yours in check?”

Arthur made an irritated sound, and grabbed at him the moment he crawled into bed.

Merlin yelped and wriggled, as Arthur tickled that spot just below his ribs on his right side. Arthur laughed, and then rolled on top of him. Merlin struggled and grumbled for a bit, and then gave up, sliding his arms around him. Arthur pressed his face into the base of his neck, and shifted so he was only half on him, and not so heavy.

It had taken a while not to feel suffocated under the weight of him, but now Merlin found he had trouble sleeping without it. Another miserable part of travelling the kingdom with the knights.

“We are staying in bed all day tomorrow,” Arthur muttered into his neck. “It’s been too long.”

“Too long since what,” Merlin asked, before yawning, knowing that he was referring to something else, even if he didn’t know what.

Arthur was silent, but his breathing wasn’t that of sleep. Merlin closed his eyes against how tired they were, and stroked the skin under his hands with his thumbs, waiting.

“Go to sleep, Merlin,” Arthur mumbled.

Merlin frowned, wondering what he had really been about to say, but sighed, and let it go. They were both too tired. The would have all day tomorrow.

 

* * *

Arthur made Merlin get out of bed to grab the food when they woke. Or, rather, when he woke and tickled Merlin awake. 

In Merlin’s opinion, Arthur deserved that accidental backhanded slap. And Merlin certainly hadn’t deserved to be pushed off the bed in retaliation.

But now they’d both eaten, and Arthur was lying back. Every time he moved he groaned, and Merlin eyed up his bruises and scrapes. He could probably do with some salve on the bruises, but it was all the way through the castle to Gaius’ quarters, and Merlin was feeling rather sore and tired himself.

After clearing away from the bed the things they didn’t eat, Merlin crawled back on, and flopped down next to Arthur. They were both still naked, not bothering to put on clothes when they weren’t going to be disturbed for the day. It was a nice feeling, knowing that he didn’t have to do anything. He looked over Arthur, stretched out on his back, and then shuffled closer.

“Not yet,” Arthur huffed, turning and giving him a rather serious look. “We need to talk.”

Merlin’s stomach lurched. His fear must have shown, because Arthur reached out, and brushed a thumb over his cheek.

“I’ve been king for two years now, things are mostly stable,” he said slowly. “I’m well accepted by the people.”

“I always said you’d be a great king,” Merlin said, frowning. He didn’t understand what Arthur could possibly have to say, but he was starting to think back on how tense he had been after that attack. How desperate to get back to Camelot, and it became clearer.

“You need to marry,” he said, trying not to sound upset. Of course, a brush with death, and he had no heir.

Arthur frowned. “What? No. Why would you—” He made an annoyed sound. “Merlin, that’s not...that’s a conversation for another time. That’s...that’s years from now.”

Relief crashed through Merlin, and he felt himself relax. He wasn’t ready for that yet. He knew it would have to happen one day...but just not yet. “What then?” he asked.

“I’ve not changed any of my father’s laws yet, to make the transition easier,” Arthur said, seeming to search his expression. “Even when I blatantly disagree, I’ve kept things as they are, for stability.”

“A wise choice,” Merlin said, frowning. “What is this about? You have a whole council of men to help you with matters of state. I’m just a servant.” He tried to make the last part teasing, but he failed. They’d talked of politics before, but he wasn’t sure he could hold his tongue on the topic of magic, if Arthur sought his advice on changing laws. It would be the first thing he suggested Arthur change, and that was too risky to contemplate.

Arthur frowned again. “You know I value your opinion,” he said. “Even if half the time you’re a complete and utter idiot.”

“Thanks,” Merlin said wryly.

Biting his lip, Arthur looked away, then over their naked bodies, and then back to Merlin.

“I saw you use magic, Merlin,” he said softly.

Merlin felt his expression fall. Heart pounding, he opened his mouth, but Arthur talked over him.

“Don’t do me the disservice of trying to lie and hide it now,” he said, firmly. “I saw. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed something like it, but I could no longer pretend it wasn’t what it was.”

Merlin closed his mouth, and swallowed heavily. His heart was still pounding, and his hands were starting to feel numb. But Arthur didn’t look angry. He was a bit tense, but not angry. 

But they were naked, the timing was terrible. 

They’d ridden back together and nothing had been different. Aside from being tense, and insisting on getting back to Camelot as quickly as possible, Arthur had been no different after supposedly seeing him perform magic.

Merlin took a few steady breaths.

“I have no reason to explain it away as something else now,” Arthur continued, watching him carefully. “I’m not my father, and you’ve been in a position to harm the kingdom for a long time now. You haven’t.”

“I’d never.”

“I believe you.”

Merlin looked away. His heart was still pounding, and he still felt nervous. But the terror was fading. 

Feeling unbelievably naked, he pulled the sheet over himself, and sat up.

“I wanted to tell you,” he said softly. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew he needed to say that. “I didn’t want to hide.”

“A lot of warlocks and witches have died in Camelot since you arrived. I don’t blame you,” Arthur replied, also sitting, but not covering himself. “I was already suspecting this long before this latest attack.”

“You didn’t say anything,” Merlin muttered, looking down at the sheet.

“I thought if it was true, you would have told me.”

Arthur sounded hurt, and Merlin closed his eyes. “Using magic is still punishable by death,” he said softly.

“Which brings me back to why I brought this up.” A gentle hand landed on Merlin's shoulder, and he couldn't help but flinch away.

Arthur inhaled sharply, and Merlin’s stomach twisted.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Arthur said. “You can’t think I’d hurt you, not after everything we’ve been through, after all that we are to each other. You’ve been sharing my bed for years, Merlin.  _ Years _ .”

“And lying to you the whole time,” Merlin added, finally looking at him. “Your attitude towards my kind hasn’t always been accepting. You’ve sounded like your father more times than I care to count. I wanted to tell you, but I was also afraid to tell you.”

The muscle in Arthur’s jaw jumped, and he looked away. “I’ve learned that the danger in magic users lies in the person, and not the magic,” he said, after several moments of tense silence.

“Too late to save those who didn’t deserve to die.” Merlin knew he shouldn’t say it, and yet he wasn’t able to stop himself. “I’ve killed witches and sorcerers for you, Arthur. Those driven mad and angry by your father, by you. I’ve killed people for you, and you don’t even know.”

Arthur stared at him, then shuffled closer. “Tell me,” he said gently. “Tell me everything. Tell me what I’ve missed.”

Merlin’s stomach twisted. There was so much to tell, so many years. “Why bother?” he asked. “It’s in the past.”

“You didn’t say anything, in the woods,” Arthur said. “You just held out your hand and knocked men clean off their feet. You made a sword fly from the ground to impale a man. You used no words. I’ve never seen magic like that. Tell me about your magic.”

Merlin shivered, he felt sick. “Aren’t you afraid of me?” He didn’t even want to know, but if Arthur had seen him kill with his magic, after growing up learning to fear and hate people like him, how was he sitting there so calm, so vulnerable?

Why was he bringing this up while they were naked in bed? After they’d been intimate the night before?

“No,” Arthur said carefully. “I’m sure you could kill me with ease, if you wanted to, after what I saw. But I don’t believe you want to, or that you could bring yourself to do it.”

Merlin searched his expression, and felt an urge rise within him. To test him. To know. He looked behind them, to where Arthur’s armour and weapons were still lying in a dirty pile where he’d left them. He reached out, and Arthur’s dagger sailed gently through the air.

Arthur tensed, but didn’t look at the knife as Merlin held it to his throat with his magic. He held Merlin’s gaze.

“I put my life in your hands,” he said, his throat moving against the blade. “As I have done many times before, without really knowing. Without understanding.”

Merlin frowned. “I have a knife to your throat.”

“You could do the same without magic,” Arthur said, watching him with a serious expression. “You’ve slept in my bed for years. There are always weapons in my room. You could have killed me in my sleep without any need for magic at all. I trusted you then, and having magic doesn’t change that now.”

Merlin could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You don’t just come to that understanding so quickly,” he said. “You found out only a few days ago. Why aren’t you angry?”

“I thought a lot, in those days,” Arthur said, licking his lips, and lifting a hand to his throat. He ran his fingers over the dagger. “Right after killing those men you were back to the bumbling servant, as if it had never happened. You were no different.”

His dismissal almost made Merlin angry. When thinking of Arthur’s reaction to the revelation of his magic, he had always expected something far different. He’d expected anger, perhaps violence. Maybe he shouldn’t have. Maybe he should have trusted Arthur more. That only made him feel a bit sick.

“Do your eyes always do that?” Arthur asked, reaching out now, even with the knife still to his throat.

Merlin’s breath caught, as Arthur’s fingertips brushed the sensitive skin just under his eyes.

“I thought you hated magic.”

Arthur frowned. “I did. I still do. It’s dangerous, and I can’t fight it, or defend against it,” he answered honestly. “Surely I can’t be blamed for that? I’ve never really seen it used except to harm others.”

“And yet you haven’t called for the guards,” Merlin pointed out. “You didn’t have the knights arrest me on the way back to Camelot. You didn’t kill me in the night.”

A flash of pain contorted Arthur’s features, and he let his hand drop. “I’d sooner kill myself than hurt you, Merlin.”

Merlin’s breath caught in his throat. They’d said such serious things to each other before, but always when in danger, or close to death. In serious moments when they weren’t sure they’d live to see another day. Even after all the years they’d been intimate.

Slowly, carefully, he moved the dagger away from Arthur’s throat, and let it fall to the floor beside the bed.

“You’ve seen magic used non-violently before,” he said, bringing his hands together in front of him. “Do you forget so easily?”

Quietly, he whispered the spell, and an orb of blue light grew in his hands, until he let it float between them.

“That was you? You were unconscious,” Arthur muttered, staring at the orb in shock. “You were dying.”

“My magic is for you, Arthur,” Merlin said, his anger and pain fading as he watched the expression on Arthur’s face. “I use it for you.”

Arthur looked at him again. “I want to make things right,” he said.

“You can never make right what Uther did,” Merlin answered, unable to mask the pain in his voice. 

“I want to try.”

“Don’t do this because of me.”

The idea made Merlin feel sick. What would happen if Merlin displeased him? Or hurt him? What would happen when Arthur was forced to take a wife to obtain an heir, and Merlin would be swept aside?

It would hurt far worse to see magic ushered back into the land, only for it to be attacked again later.

“Help me do this the right way,” Arthur urged, moving closer, taking Merlin’s hands in his own. Hands that had just so openly used magic. “Help me do this in a way that doesn’t open us to danger. Help me, Merlin. Please.”

Merlin eyed him up. “What will you do the first time a sorcerer attacks Camelot?” he asked. “Outlaw magic again? Punish anyone who uses magic? Kill them?”

“What will you do the first time a sorcerer attacks Camelot?” Arthur returned.

Merlin almost smiled. That was so easy. “I will do what I have always done,” he said simply. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you, or die at your side.” Even if it was so hard to hurt other people like him. 

Sometimes the things he did for Arthur were so painful, so saddening, but he would never be able to stop.

“You are proof that not all magic is evil,” Arthur said. “Help me show that to the people.”

“What are you asking?” Merlin frowned. 

“Stand in my council. I’ll create a position for you, advisor for magical affairs, or something like it.”

Arthur almost looked excited, and Merlin’s thoughts were racing from everything they’d said in the short time since waking. His entire world had just been turned upside down. Arthur knew. He  _ knew _ . And it hadn’t changed how he felt about him. They’d ridden back together, been in the bath together, and then slept together, and the whole time, Arthur had known.

“Just like that?” he asked, starting to suspect this was some ridiculous dream. “You’re just going to usher magic back in? Place a servant in a high-ranking position?”

Arthur’s face fell. “Not at once. Slowly, but certainly soon. But...don’t you realise? I’ve been trying to think of a way to get you into a position you deserve for a while now. You’re so much more than a servant, Merlin. This would be...well, you’re uniquely qualified. No one could argue that.”

Merlin’s mouth dropped open, but he struggled for find words for a few moments. Arthur just watched him, still sitting there naked. Looking at ease now.

“You want me to reveal my magic to the council?”

“Merlin, I want you to be free to be who you are without hiding this part of yourself,” Arthur said seriously. “I’ve been suspecting for a while now, and I’ve come to the point where I understand why you hid it, even though I thought you’d tell me if my suspicions had been true. I just want you to be free.”

Merlin’s chest ached. The longer they talked, the more he calmed down. The more he realised that Arthur knew, and he was accepting it. But that was Arthur. They had been sharing a bed for so many years now, but just because Arthur accepted it didn’t mean anyone else would.

“The council is still largely made up of your father’s men,” he said softly, looking up, and banishing the floating orb of light.

Arthur looked disappointed to see it go. “And I am the king,” he answered. “I will broach the matter slowly. I will not let any harm come to you. I’ll make an exception in the law just for you if I have to, until I can talk them around to abolishing my father’s laws. They can’t stop me from doing that, and given that you have helped me in battle, no doubt many times, they can’t even really argue it.”

The idea of being an exception made Merlin feel a bit sick. He already felt like an exception. The years had taught him he was different even among other magic users. 

“Why did you wait until we returned to Camelot?” he asked. “Why not confront me right away?”

Arthur looked around the room, and thumbed at his chin thoughtfully. 

“With Leon and the others being so overprotective after that ambush, I was cut off from you at first. I was angry to have it confirmed, for not opening my eyes sooner. I was...I was upset, hurt and angry, that you never told me,” he admitted. “By the time I was able to get to you, I had calmed down, and thought about it. Talking about it out there was too risky. The knights were too close. Someone might have heard. You patched me up, and then we started back towards Camelot, and it was just better to wait.”

Merlin stared at him, unsure how to ask. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“I was exhausted, and being with you is so...comfortable, Merlin,” he said, answering Merlin's unspoken question. “I was tired and sore, and being with you always...it had always…and your magic...well, if you’d never used it against me before when we were intimate, there wasn’t much chance you’d use it the one time I was aware of it.”

There was heat rushing to Merlin’s cheeks. At the mention of Arthur’s physical state, his gaze dropped to the bruises and scrapes. Serious wounds he’d never had much ease healing, but those he was able to heal...and now he could.

He could.

Biting his lips, he reached out. Arthur didn’t even flinch as Merlin pushed him back until he was lying flat, and Merlin was kneeling over him. Then again, Merlin had just held a knife to his throat with magic, hands were nothing.

Running his gaze over all the naked skin on display, he rested his palm over the nastiest looking bruise, on Arthur’s upper arm. Serious wounds he still had trouble with, his magic only working sporadically. But bruises and scrapes he had mastered long ago, although had been unable to heal anyone but himself and Gaius.

Meeting Arthur’s eyes, he recited the spell, and felt the rush of warmth through him that indicated his healing spell had worked. Arthur’s eyes widened, but Merlin looked away, as he slid his hand over Arthur’s shoulder, and down his chest to a bruise over his ribs. He repeated the spell there, and moved to another bruise, and another. Arthur lay there, watching silently as Merlin ran his hands all over him, healing each and every bruise, cut and scrape.

When he’d finished with Arthur’s torso, he moved to his legs. There was a nasty bruise on Arthur’s hip, green and purple, and Merlin’s voice wavered on the spell, his attention sliding to Arthur’s cock, which was beginning to harden. The sight took his breath away.

Looking up, he saw Arthur looking down at his own body with an expression of awe, and a flush of pink on his cheeks.

Merlin’s magic was arousing him. 

Shivering, Merlin returned to his task. Biting his lip, he moved his hands slower between cuts and scrapes. He rubbed his thumbs into the skin after he healed it. Arthur’s breathing was noticeably faster, and looking up, Merlin took note of how his cock had hardened further. Arthur’s chest was flushed along with his face now, and Merlin realised he was embarrassed by his arousal.

“Turn over,” he said softly.

Arthur met his gaze and held it for a moment, before he did so. Merlin ran his gaze down the length of his back, then watched his arse flex as his hard cock pressed against the bed, and his breath hitched.

Pulling the sheet off himself, Merlin straddled the back of his thighs, so high up that his cock, mostly limp, but starting to take an interest, rested against Arthur’s arse. 

Arthur looked over his shoulder, biting his lip, still looking embarrassed.

Merlin ignored him, and started to heal all the bruises and cuts on his back too. He took his time, hands sliding and pressing, mumbling spells and then massaging the places he healed after the magic faded.

Arthur was covered in bruises, but even if it looked alarming, it wasn’t so surprising. He did like to bodily throw himself at combatants like an idiot.

As he trailed his hands lower and lower, Arthur’s breathing became harsher. He had his arms folded in front of him, and was resting his forehead on them.

Merlin shuffled back, and even though Arthur’s arse was fine, he smoothed his hands over the skin, and massaged the cheeks lightly. Arthur moaned, rocking his hips a little. The sound, and the sight, made heat rush through Merlin.

He would never have imagined Arthur reacting this way to the use of his magic. The more it went on, the more aroused he was getting as well. But he shouldn't be. In so little time, his world had been turned upside down. It was too easy. It wasn’t the time for this.

Still, as he healed the last injuries to Arthur’s body, a bruise to the back of his left thigh, and a shallow cut on his right calf, he was left with nothing else to do to distract from what was happening.

Arthur was stretched out, aroused, knowing of his magic, and wanting him anyway.

Merlin shuffled back up, settling against his arse, letting Arthur feel that he was also aroused. Arthur’s breath hitched, as Merlin brushed kisses along his shoulder.

“What do you want?” he asked softly.

It wouldn’t be the first time he had taken Arthur after massaging his back. It was a familiar position, even if didn’t happen often, even if Arthur preferred watching over facing away. The dynamic of his magic no longer being secret, and in fact appearing to be desired, threw Merlin off balance.

Normally, he would take him this way, or turn him over, prepare himself, and let Arthur watch as he sank down onto him.

Now...he wasn’t entirely sure what he could do, or what Arthur would want. Even if nothing appeared to have really changed. Maybe even more so because of that. Things  _ should _ be different, they themselves should be acting differently. But they were unchanged.

Merlin had never expected that, he’d never even dared hope for it, whenever he’d thought about telling Arthur of his magic.

Arthur shifted, and Merlin lifted himself to balance on his knees so he could turn over under him. He stayed kneeling, arms limp and useless at his sides, unsure, as Arthur settled onto his back. 

Arthur was looking unsure himself. He looked over Merlin, his gaze lingering on his cock.

“Is that because of using magic on me?” he asked quietly, before looking up to his expression. “Or because of my reaction to it?”

Merlin shivered. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “More likely the latter. I don’t...I always react to you like this. I’m not sure my...my magic has anything to do with it.”

Arthur stared at him, then raised himself up onto one hand. Leaning forward, he trailed his other hand down Merlin’s chest. The feel of his fingers sliding closer to his cock made Merlin shiver, but he stayed still. 

“Are we...are we alright, Merlin?” Arthur asked, not looking at him, circling his navel with his fingers, and watching the motion instead. 

“I don’t think that’s up to me,” Merlin replied, reaching out and cupping his face gently. “I’ve lied to you for years. Are you really okay with that?”

Arthur visibly shuddered. “I’m as much responsible for trapping you in your secrets, as you are for choosing not to tell me.”

Merlin frowned. He wasn’t so sure about that. Perhaps. More so Uther than Arthur. Still…

“Are you really not angry with me? Do you really not fear me?” he asked softly.

Arthur finally looked up, and met his gaze. “Maybe if I had found out a few years ago, before I was king. When this, us, was new. When...when my father was still alive. I think then, most likely, I would have feared and hated you.”

Merlin wanted to look away, but couldn't. Arthur’s hand slid down further, and then his fingers were tracing the length of Merlin’s cock.

“This is not the time for this conversation,” Merlin said breathlessly.

Arthur’s gaze dropped for a moment, then rose again. “No. I think it’s the perfect time,” he said. “What better way to show you that I trust you, than to be with you now, knowing about your magic, being naked, alone, vulnerable. You could do me harm so easily right now, but I trust you not to. I trust that you don’t want to.”

“I could never hurt you, Arthur.” The very thought of it made him sick. “I only ever want to protect you.”

Arthur’s breath caught. “How many times have you wanted to heal me, but been unable?”

Merlin shivered, and pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him down. Arthur rested back, completely at ease, but looking sad.

“Too many,” Merlin breathed, leaning over to brush his lips against Arthur’s neck. “But I have healed you before. I have brought you back from the edge of death. At times like that, my magic almost fails me, and I’ve always been so afraid that I won’t succeed the next time.”

Arthur’s breathing was harsh as he tilted his head back, and Merlin sucked the spot on his neck that made him go boneless.

“It seemed to effortless just now.”

Merlin sighed. “I struggle to heal serious wounds, but light wounds are no trouble for me.”

“Things will get awkward once your magic is public, if you heal me in front of others,” Arthur said lightly, his voice catching as Merlin gently worried a nipple with his teeth. “If I react that way again.”

Merlin leaned back, settling on Arthur’s thighs. Arthur was still so certain that would happen, revealing his magic, being accepted. Looking to the side, he reached out a hand. Arthur’s eyes widened, as the bedside cupboard opened, and a vial of oil flew to Merlin’s hands.

Part of him shivered with some sort of deep fear, to use his magic so openly, but mostly, he felt an odd sort of freedom. 

“It’s so strange,” Arthur murmured. “So effortless, so...unbelievable, the things you can do.”

Merlin shook his head. “This is nothing, Arthur. You haven’t even begun to see the things I can do.”

He uncorked the vial, and poured the scented oil into one hand. He used his magic to re-stopper the vial, and send it back. Arthur’s gaze followed it, his eyes wide, and cheeks flushed. Merlin couldn't understand how he had moved from fearing and hating magic, to being so aroused by it. But the arousal was undeniable, as he shifted, and then lined their cocks up, wrapping his hand around both as best he could.

Arthur moaned, his hips thrusting, and back arching.

They could do more. Normally they would, and Arthur was certainly not sore and exhausted anymore after being healed. Still, as one of Arthur’s hands joined his, Merlin leaned close and kissed him, and it was enough, even if it wound up being over so much sooner than was usual for either of them.

Merlin lay on Arthur, as their breathing slowed. His hand was resting on Arthur’s chest, and he curled it into a fist.

“I should have told you sooner.”

Arthur slid a hand into his hair. “No. All things happen as they must,” he said slowly. “I have to believe that, or all the bad things of the past become so pointless, and hurt more.”

“The council will never accept me.”

“Then I will form a new council, before we reveal you,” Arthur said, rolling them until he was splayed over Merlin and resting his face in the crook of his neck. “I’ll test the waters by mentioning that my views on magic are changing, start rumours amongst them without speaking to any of them directly. We’ll find out who will be a problem, and I’ll dismiss and replace them.”

“Most of them have been on the council for—”

“I am king now, not my father,” Arthur said quietly, his voice hard. “They accept that, and serve me, rather than the ghost of him, or they go.”

“No king can rule on his own. You need people who will stand up to you if you are being—”

“I know that, Merlin. This is not that. My father did many things that were, on the surface, for the good of the kingdom and people, but the older I get, the longer I rule, the more I realise the truth of it. They may have achieved his ends, protecting the kingdom as a whole, but the means were not worth it. He made choices on the basis of his hate, and by what was easier, and less risky. I don’t want to rule like that.”

Merlin closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around him. “I always said you would be the greatest king this land has ever known.”

“If I ever go too far, I trust you to put me in my place,” Arthur said, his voice not even a little teasing, but completely serious. “You’ve never been afraid to tell me the right and wrong of things. You aren’t afraid of my crown. I need that, and more people like you. Not afraid to question me, but for the right reasons, with the right motives. The council aren’t like that. Some of them are, but they’re cowed by my father’s men. Perhaps I should have removed them from the beginning.”

Merlin sighed. Talking of politics in bed was not his favourite part of being with Arthur. Even if it was now relevant to him. 

“Stability at the beginning of your rule was more important than anything else. You wouldn’t be able to achieve anything if you couldn’t stay on the throne.”

“The time of stability is over,” Arthur said. “It’s time to reshape the kingdom now. To set things right, or, at least, start to make amends. We’ll do it together.”

Merlin opened his eyes, and stared at the ceiling. “Together,” he whispered.

Perhaps it was finally time to fulfil their destiny. To usher peace and magic back into the land. Together.


End file.
